John M. Rowley’s BodyBlog

The 1-2 Punch of Success…Energy and Passion

The most essential factor is persistence - the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm (Passion) to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come.

James Whitcomb Riley

When you have the energy to fuel your passion, success is sure to follow close behind.  The 1-2 punch of energy and passion is the key to success in life.  In order to be successful in any endeavor you will need to overcome much discouragement, frustration and failure and the key to rising above these things is energy and passion.  That is why I always say that “energy is the fuel to ignite passion and passion is the engine of success!”

In the movie Cinderella Man, Russell Crowe plays a down and out boxer that makes a dramatic come back.  The back drop to this movie is the great depression and previous to the great depression Crowe’s character, Jimmy Braddock was a champion boxer that lost his way.  After his come back a reporter asks him, “You have lost before, what’s the difference this time?”  Jimmy Braddock then answers “I know what I’m fighting for”  The reporter follows up with “And what’s that?” and Jimmy comes back with what I feel is the most memorable and inspiring line in the whole movie, he simply says, “Milk”.  That says it all; now knew why he was fighting.  He was fighting to feed his kids. He was able to look defeat straight in the face and say “okay, one more round.”  He was able to overcome failure because he had the energy and passion to achieve his goal of putting milk on the table.  I feel this is the story of America.  A spirited passion for a worthy goal that will let nothing stand in her way.  “Okay let’s go one more round” was the unspoken mantra for generations of Americans and what has made America the greatest country in the world.  

Many years ago when I got started in sales, I didn’t know how to sell but I was passionate and energetic.  One of my first clients told me that as my skill increases it is natural for my passion to wane.  He told me the key to my success will lie in my passion and if I can combine an infectious passion with proven sales skills, I will always be a top producing sales person.  Was he right!

Put the 1-2 punch of energy and passion to work in your life so you can change the world for the better and fulfill your destiny! 

If there is one ingredient that sets the successful apart from the rest, I would have to say it would be their passion.   The dictionary says that passion is a strong liking or desire for, or devotion to some activity, object, or concept.  One thing I have noticed over the years is that anyone that I have known or met that was successful had a passion.  It didn’t matter if they were successful in sports, business, non-profit endeavors, family life or any other area.  If they were successful, they had an unwavering passion and that certainly holds true in bodybuilding as well, in fact bodybuilding can influence the rest of your life in a very positive way.

On January 3, 2007 Oprah Winfrey had a show called “What class are you?  Inside America’s taboo topic.”  I thought it was handled in a wonderful and very well balanced way. In fact, I loved the way Oprah stood her ground, as she disagreed with the “luck equation” to success and said that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity! 

One thing did get my goat though.  One of the guests said that it is harder to get ahead today than ever before.  Tell that to my grandparents and countless others who lost everything during the depression.   My grandparents went from a beautiful home on Long Island to a two bedroom apartment, over a shoe store in Brooklyn, where they raised six very successful and productive children.

Oprah’s guest also said that the ladder of success is so much longer today and that it is almost impossible to climb.  My burning question is this “Is the ladder longer? Or are we just weaker and more tired as a society?”  He stated that twenty and thirty years ago it was easier to climb that ladder than now. I say the problem is the obesity and lack of energy in America that has turned into an epidemic over that same time period.  So is the ladder longer or are we just finding it harder to climb because we are physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted?  I agree with Oprah, opportunity is still alive and well in America today.  You need to prepare for it and work toward your goals. All of which takes, energy, patience, persistence, determination and most importantly passion.  And never, ever let anyone else dictate your future, even the experts that write books or end up on talk shows.  They are just telling you that they know THEY can’t do it!  In fact they guy who was on her show looked like he never saw the inside of a gym.

We as bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts have the privilege and opportunity to lift the people we touch from where they are to where they should be.  We are authors of possibility and speakers of life through the bodybuilding lifestyle.  We have the ability to create change in a way that most people simply can’t.  We wear our sport, hobby and passion on our sleeves, in fact they fill our sleeves.

I know for certain that if we continue to bring our message of hope to our nation that the obesity epidemic will take care of itself.  America doesn’t need another diet, pill or exercise program, they need a lifestyle change.  The fact that we have a new fad every week and we still get fatter as a nation speaks for itself.  We need to show people who they can be so they can achieve the life of their dreams and climb their ladder of success without running out of gas!

I encourage all of you to be a good role model to those around you and help change our country into what she should be. I am proud of bodybuilding and of bodybuilders.